Tony Hawk, on left, shamelessly using school time
to make himself a ton of cash.
Today, millions of students from 6th grade to high
school seniors had to watch Tony Hawk promote himself, his video
games, and his summer tour. Tony Hawk was given permission to co-host
the entire show.
If you notice the picture above from today’s broadcast,
you will see two regular Channel One anchors along with Hawk on
the left. They didn’t need Hawk to do the show. Many times, the
show is manned by one anchor. Tony Hawk is there as a human billboard.
Students have seen Mr. Hawk many times over the years.
His violent video games have been advertised relentlessly on Channel
One News for at least four years.
This time he is pushing his summer tour, but that
tour is partially about his video games and his mere presence on
today’s show helps sell "Tony Hawk’s Underground 2" video
games.
Hawk is going to make a small fortune from this tour.
Tickets are from $25 to $85. Why would a school allow this high-priced
huckster to take up class time? The answer of course is that Channel
One News is in total control and Channel One decide who the students
will see on the classroom TV screen.
From today’s transcript:
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2005
May 24, 2005
[HELLOS]
MELISSA: SKATEBOARDERS, B-M-Xers AND MOTOCROSS RIDERS … GET READY!
TONY HAWK’S BOOM BOOM HUCKJAM TOUR MAY BE COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU.
AND HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT IT AND TO GUEST ANCHOR THE SHOW IS THE
MAN HIMSELF, TONY HAWK. THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
TONY HAWK — PRO SKATEBOARDER: THANKS FOR HAVING
ME BACK.
At the end of the show:
MELISSA: WELL, THAT’S IT FOR US, GUYS. BUT BEFORE
WE HEAD OUT, TONY, TELL US WHY YOU ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS SUMMER’S
BOOM BOOM HUCKJAM TOUR.
TONY: WELL, BESIDES HAVING THE BEST B-M-Xers, SKATEBOARDERS
AND MOTOCROSS RIDERS, WE’VE GOT OUR BIGGEST RAMP SET UP, BY FAR.
WE HAVE A 40 FOOT GAP RAMP THAT LAUNCHES US INTO A 20 FOOT QUARTER-PIPE.
WE’VE GOT ABOUT 10, 15 FEET ABOVE THAT … IT’S THE BIGGEST RAMP
SYSTEM WE’VE EVER HAD, SO WE’RE REALLY EXCITED.
MELISSA: WELL THAT SOUNDS REALLY AWESOME, AND IT
WAS WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU HERE TODAY.
TONY: THANKS.
MELISSA: AND TONY BROUGHT ALONG A SKATEBOARD DECK,
SOME T-SHIRTS AND A FEW OF HIS D-V-Ds FOR ONE LUCKY VIEWER TO WIN.
FOR A CHANCE TO WIN ALL THIS, HEAD ON OVER TO OUR WEB SITE AND
LOOK FOR "GAMES AND CONTESTS." AND THERE YOU WILL FIND
A LINK TO TONY’S WEB SITE. DERRICK: AND WE WILL SEE ALL OF YOU
LATER.
MELISSA: BYE, GUYS. DERRICK: BYE.
Hawk’s Underground 2 video game contains a warning about "Blood,
Crude Humor, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, and Violence."
